I don't really have an opinion on whether or not Madonna should be allowed 
to adopt this baby - but what I found interesting in this article was that 
this: "Banda said he gave the boy to the orphanage mainly for medical care 
and breast-feeding after the boy's mother died of malaria days after 
giving birth to him."

In this country, the baby would have stayed with dad and gotten ABM. 
interesting...        Deb Ray, RNC, IBCLC


Father: I didn't want Madonna adoption
POSTED: 7:17 a.m. EDT, October 22, 2006 
Adjust font size:
LIPUNGA, Malawi (Reuters) -- The father of the Malawian boy Madonna plans 
to adopt added a fresh twist to the saga, saying he never intended his son 
to be adopted by the pop diva, but only for her to raise the child on his 
behalf.

In an interview with Reuters Television in his home village of Lipunga on 
Saturday, Yohane Banda said Madonna asked that she be able to raise his 
one-year-old son on his behalf, rather than that the child should become 
her own.

Banda's statement is a major shift from his earlier remarks last week when 
he railed against human rights groups that have gone to court to stop 
Madonna from adopting his son David.

"Had they told us that Madonna wanted to adopt my son and make him her own 
son, we would not have agreed to that," Banda said in his local language 
of Chichewa.

"It would have been better for him to continue staying at the orphanage 
because I see no reason why my child should be given away forever when I 
can feed him," he said, speaking at his village of Lipunga near the Zambia 
border late on Saturday.

Madonna, 48, has angered rights groups with her plan to adopt young David 
Banda, who left his native country on Tuesday last week for the 
entertainer's home in London after she was granted temporary adoption 
rights by Malawi authorities.

The High Court in Lilongwe will on Friday start hearing the case lodged by 
the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), an alliance of 67 human 
rights groups, which argues current Malawi laws forbid international 
adoption, even by celebrities.

Banda told Reuters he signed papers he could not understand, but 
government officials assured him that the agreement was similar to what he 
had with the orphanage -- to nurture and educate the boy but not take him 
away for good.

"I cannot read and write so I relied on what the (government) officials 
told me that the papers said Madonna would look after the child the way 
the orphanage planned to educate him and then he comes back to me," Banda 
said.

Asked if he had any copies of the agreements he signed with Madonna, Banda 
said: "I am still waiting to get my copies."

He said the copies were still in the hands of the government officials who 
mediated the agreement. Banda said he would wait to see them before 
deciding what action to take after consultations with his mother and other 
family members.

Government officials were not immediately available to comment.

Banda said he gave the boy to the orphanage mainly for medical care and 
breast-feeding after the boy's mother died of malaria days after giving 
birth to him.

"We sent this child to an orphanage because at one month we could not look 
after him, we did not have a health center nearby and the orphanage was 
the ideal place for him," he said.

The American singer, who is married to British film director Guy Ritchie, 
hopes to make David a brother to her 10-year-old daughter Lourdes and son, 
Rocco, who is six. She has denied cutting corners to speed the adoption 
process.

David will stay abroad with Madonna for 18 months and be monitored by 
Malawi officials before final approval can be given for him to officially 
join her family.

Banda said people did not give him a chance to explain his position better 
because the media was only interested in knowing about David and Madonna.

"What we agreed with Madonna was that she looks after my child until he 
finishes school, becomes independent and comes back home to us," Banda 
said.

Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be 
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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